For the King II Review (PC)

The Hobgoblin Butcher might be a side quest boss, but he is one of the more capable enemies I have faced. It might have been a relatively easy battle if he was alone, but he is backed up by a strong force, including a warlock that’s using magic to disrupt my attacks and a sniper that’s delivering too many critical hits. I might have to use many of my healing items to get through this.

My Herbalist delivers a party heal to make sure no one dies soon and then strikes a marauder for some decent damage. The Blacksmith uses a focus charge to try and get someone dazed but that attempt fails. A fireball from the Scholar eliminates the enemy archer and deals some damage to the Butcher himself, who then manages to miss my Stablehand with his own attack. I might say that things are going well but I don’t want to jinx it.

Unfortunately, my luck runs out as the warlock eliminates the Herbalist with his next attack. It’s now three against three and my chances aren’t great. More healing helps a little, but I just cannot deal with the combination of melee and ranged strikes and the amount of critical damage they deliver. My party wipes and it’s time to visit the Lore store to see what extra options are available to open up for another run. I might focus more on strong, frontline fighters and less on magic.

For the King II is developed by IronOak Games and published by Curve Games, I played it using Steam on the PC. The game mixes turn-based combat and role-playing ideas taken from classic tabletop experiences. The narrative picks up years after the events of the first game, which are quickly recapped during the intro cutscene. Rosomon was a good queen for a while, but she has since turned heel, enslaving people for a secret, evil project.A group of four adventurers, covering a range of classes and abilities, join forces to discover her sinister plot and fight to stop it.

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So far, so standard for a party-based role-playing game that’s explicitly inspired by classic tabletop experiences. The narrative beats of the five chapters will be pretty familiar to any RPG fan but the setting and characters have charm enough to compensate. The writing is filled with a ton of fantasy tropes but works and has just enough humor to make the world enjoyable.

For the King II uses exploration and turn-based battles as its core mechanics. Before the adventure starts, gamers will choose their four party members and their initial loadout. Each of them moves independently through the game’s world, revealing hexes as they move toward an objective. Each of them might contain a surprise, which is often an enemy, and there are groups of opponents also roaming around, ready to engage the player’s party.

They all happen on a simplified battlefield, with two rows for each side. Units can use their turn to move and attack. Special abilities and items are also available, and they should be deployed at crucial points to gain a tactical advantage. Combat is pretty hard, especially when an enemy leader shows up with strong ranged and magic support.

All actions, both on the campaign map and in battles, are built on dice rolls. A capable Stablehand can miss a great axe attack and deal no damage to a lowly skeleton. It’s important to use the Focus resource to shift the odds and try to guarantee hits. As the party gets more equipment, make sure that each character gets well-suited weapons and armor (although the interface makes this more time-consuming than it should be).

Outside of combat, focus can be used to boost movement. Make camp to rest and meditate before the big story battles. The big difficulty spikes tend to come while tackling side quests as a big troll with strong backup can quickly lead to a party wipe. Make sure to save when all characters are in good shape.

For the King II does offer variety, with 12 unique character classes that can joined by mercenaries and anbimal companies. The title also has a mechanism, centered on lore, that allows players to unlock more content via a store. It’s a good idea because it opens up new options and gets players something to look forward to for their next run.

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For the King II is designed for friends to engage in cooperative multiplayer. Searching will bring up open games but working with strangers to achieve an objective can often be complicated. But a group of four players who know each other, and coordinate will make the game easier and more joyous. Gamers are reporting that crashes and bugs, apparently more prevalent in multiplayer, and the developers are talking about patches to solve these issues.

Players who engage with the action on their own, controlling all four characters, will have plenty of tabletop role-playing game-inspired fun of their own. The focus on exploration and surprising events makes the world feel alive, even if moving the four protagonists across the map can become somewhat repetitive.

For the King II is an uneven game when it comes to presentation. The game uses the traditional tabletop perspective for the overland map, which can feel awkward at times. The world is filled with nice details and the shift to the battle view gives players the details they need to make good tactical choices. But character designs are too conservative and have a plastic sheen that doesn’t fit the fantasy universe.

The music is pretty good and adds to the tense feeling of the bigger battles and underlines the thrill of opening up a big treasure chest. But combat effects aren’t as enjoyable, and I quickly turned them down in the mix.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion